Draft appliance



6. AND G. H. AMONSEN.

DRAFT APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.a.1919.

mwmsq Patented J an. 24, 1922.

17v VEN Toms: GILBERT AMo/vsE/v. GEORGE HAMo/vss/v.

THEIR A T TOf-TNE i GILBERT AMONSEN AND GEORGE H. AMONSEN, DIEMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

nnarr APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented J an. 24, 1922.

Application filed December 8, 1919. Serial No. 343,224.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that we, GI BERT Aaronsnn and GEORGE H. AMONSEN, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepinand State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Draft Appliances, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to draft appliances and an object is to provide adevice of this character in which is embodied a draw-bar for attachmentto various vehicles such as tractors, and said draw-bar being attachedin such manner that it will be self-centering, self controlled andselflocking. Among the objects of our invention are the provision of adevice which will cushion the pull when starting the vehicle, which willpermit the draw-bar to swing in any direction with the minimum amount offriction, which will be self-locking when backing and which will providefor a direct pull on the draw-bar when the vehicle is passing overuneven ground and the front of the vehicle drops or raises.

The full objects and advantages of our invention will appear inconnection with the detailed description thereof and the novel featuresembodied in our inventive idea will be particularly pointed ont in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the application of ourinvention in one form :Fig. 1 is a top plan view; Fig. 2 is a view inlongitudinal section 011 the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top planView of the draw-bar.

Referring to the particular construction shown in the drawings, thecharacters 10 and 12 designate the side frame members and the character14 designates the rear frame member of a. vehicle. An axle 16 bolted tothe side members, is provided with wheels 18 and 20. A draw-bar 22 isprorvided with engageable holes 24 at its rear, screw-thread ed rods 26and 28 at its front and a slot 30 between its ends. Secured to the sideframe members beneath the axle 16 is a transverse bar 32 through whichextends a bolt 34, the lower end of which is braced by rods 36 and 88,the rear ends of which surround the bolt and the front ends of which areattached to the side frame members. The rods 26 and 28 straddle the bolt24 and a coiled spring 40 surrounds the rods. Most of the coils of thisspring are located entirely in front of the bolt 34, but some of them,two

for instance, as shown in Fig. 2, have the lower portion of the coilplaced back of the bolts 34 so that the spring is tensioned upwardly atits rear. The front end of the spring engages a cap 42 which is held onthe rods 26 and 28 by nuts 44, threaded upon the rods. The bolt 34normally has a position between the rods 26 and 28 as shown in Fig. 3,so as to be spaced from the front end of thedraw-bar proper. An eye-bolt46 secured to the rear frame member 14 serves to support a. member 48for swinging movement in all directions. The member 48 extends downthrough the slot 30 and is provided at its lower end with a pinor lug 50which prevents the rear end of the drawbar from becoming disengaged fromthe member 48. The rear wall of the slot 30, is inclined, as shown at52, and the rear upper portion of the member 48 is provided with aninclined surface 54 terminated by a square shoulder 56. The holes 24serve for attaching the draw-bar to an implement on device which is tobe hauled and an angle member 58 may be provided as shown in Fig. 2 toprevent the connecting member of the implement from becoming disengaged.

The operation and advantages of our invention will be readily understoodfrom the foregoing description. The spring 40, cushions shocks whichwould otherwise occur upon starting. the vehicle and the arrangement ofthe spring is such that the draw-bar is normally stressed upwardly asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When a pull on the draw-bar occurs, itis drawn into straight line position as shown in full lines in saidfigure. The member 54 is sufiiciently long so that the draw-bar may havefurther movement downwardly from such position. It will, therefore, beapparentthat there will be a straight pull on the draw-bar regardless ofth unevenness of the ground traveled over and regardless of upward ordownward tilting of the tractor frame. Turning is readily accomplishedsince the member 54 will swing either to the right or left with theminimum amount of friction and the same thing is true of the draw-barwith relation to its pivotal action upon the bolt 34. In backing, thedraw-bar swings upwardly into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2,the inclined wall 52 on the draw-bar engages on top of the shoulder 56of th member 48, and this member is forced forwardly into its dottedline position in engagement with the rear frame member let. The draw-baris thus locked and prevented from turning and the implement or trailermay be backed without liability of swerving to either side. Since thedraw-bar in this position is locked to the vehicle frame, the trailermay be turned. toward one side or the other by properly steering thevehicle in backward direction. In starting to back, the spring alsoserves as a cushion since the draw-bar moves in a forward directionagainst the tension of the spring until the draw-bar proper comesagainst the bolt 34. The draw-bar is connected in such manner that thefront wheels of the vehicle are held down both in pulling and backing sothat liability of the vehicle tipping over backward is reduced. Inbacking, the draw-bar exerts an upward thrust upon the rear frame member14.

We elaim- 1. A draft appliance comprising a drawbar, means for attachingsaid draw-bar to a vehicle and a single spring for cushioning saiddraw-bar and also moving the rear end thereof upwardly above the line ofdraft when not restrained.

2. A draft appliance comprising a-drawbar, means for pivotally attachingsaid draw-bar to a vehicle for lateral movement in both directions andalso for upward and downward movement, means normally stressing saiddraw-bar to extreme upward position, and a member for limiting theamount of movement permitted said draw-bar in a downward direction.

3. A draft appliance comprising a drawbar, a pair of rods secured to thefront end of said draw-bar, a bolt depending from a vehicle frame andpassing between said rods, acoiled spring surrounding said rods andarranged to cushion said drawbar and also'stress the rear end thereofupwardly out; of the straight line position assumed'by said draw-bar inpulling, and

means for automatically locking said draw bar to th vehicle frame inbacking.

4:. A draft appliance comprising a drawbar provided with a slot betweenits ends, a pair of rods secured to the'front end of said draw-bar, abolt depending from a vehicle frame and passing between said rods, acoiled spring surrounding said rods, a cap secured to the front ends ofsaid rods for engagement by the front end of-said spring, the mainportion of said spring lying between said cap and said bolt and the rearcoils of said spring being placed on their lower side at the rear ofsaid. bolt, a member pivoted to the vehicle frame for movement in alldirections and depending through said slot the rear upper portion ofsaid member having a shoulder adapted to be engaged by the rear'wall ofsaid slot when said draw-bar is '{pushed forwardly, and means on thelower end of said member which prevents said drawbai being forced offsaid member.

5. A draft appliance comprising a drawbar provided with a slot betweenits ends, a pair of rods secured to the front end of said draw-bar, abolt depending from a vehicle frame and passing between said rods so asto be normally spaced from the front end of said draw bar, a coiledspring surrounding said rods and arranged to cushion said draw-bar andalso stress the rear end thereof upwardly,a member pivoted to thevehicle frame for movement in all directions and depending through saidslot, the rear upward portion of said member having a shoulder adaptedtov be engaged. by the'rear wall of said slot when said drawbar ispushed forwardly, the front upper portion of said member engaging thevehicle frame when the draw-bar is in its forward position and means onthe lower end of said member which prevents said draw-bar being forcedoff said member when the rear end of said draw-bar is in its downwardposition. v

In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures.

GILBERT AMONSEN. GEO. H. AMONSEN.

